Sonia Tastes Hawaii: Crema Catalana

Although I like many different kinds of desserts, my personal preferences are for those with a custard or cream base. Whatever you call them; Bavarian Cream, Crème Anglaise, Flan, Crème Brulée, Natilla, Islas Flotantes, Crema Catalana, Leche Quemada...I love them all!

For the last couple of weeks I've been playing with Crema Catalana...a Spanish sort of version of the French Crème Brulée originating in the Catalonia region of Spain (think Barcelona).

Although many people think of Crème Brulée and Crema Catalana as the same dessert with different names, Crema Catalana is not as heavy nor rich as it's French relative.

Crema Catalana or Burnt Cream or Leche Quemada as it is sometimes called, was originally a traditional dessert served to honor Saint Joseph on his 'Saint Day', March 19th. My son was born on March 19th and his Cuban (paternal) grandmother first introduced me to this tradition on my son's first birthday. She made it every year on his birthday while we were living with my in-laws.

Saint Joseph's Day is nowhere near Christmas, but Saint Joseph is associated with Christmas...and following that logic, I decided to make it for the first time for our Christmas Eve dinner.

Christmas Eve - Table - Crema Catalana 1

My first try tasted good but it was a bit too thin and the amount of calamandin rind I used (instead of orange or lemon rind) was a bit too strong.

My second try on Friday before New Year's Eve resulted in a bit creamier and thicker consistency and the citrus rind was a little more elusive.

I don't have a salamander (an iron disc attached to a handle which is heated and traditionally used to caramelize the sugar on top) nor do I have a culinary butane torch used by many chefs, so I used the broiler part of my toaster-oven to caramelize the top of the first ones, which I served in ramekins.

The second batch was served in my adorable little green glass pedestal cups and I didn't want to chance putting them under such high heat, so I made the caramel in a pan and poured it over the top of the crema. The results were not as delicately a crispy topping, but it tasted ok and it did 'crack or shatter' when tapped with a spoon.

My two attempts just made me realize that if I'm going to make this dessert more often, I better get one of the butane torches to make my life easier.

Crema Catalana

2 cups milk (*)

1 short cinnamon stick

1 lemon rind (*)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 egg yolks

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup superfine sugar (*)

Pour milk into a thick-bottomed saucepan, add the cinnamon stick, citrus rind and vanilla extract and bring to a boil. Simmer for several minutes and then discard the cinnamon stick and citrus rind. Set aside.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl and add the cornstarch and 3/4 cup of the sugar, whisking until the mixture is creamy. Gradually pour this mixture into the saucepan with the warm milk, whisking continuously so as not to curdle the eggs.

Heat the mixture slowly until it begins to thicken, taking care that the mixture does not boil. Pour into ramekins, small individual clay paella type dishes or heatproof molds. Allow to cool, and refrigerate for several hours.

Just before serving, sprinkle the remaining sugar evenly over each ramekin or mold. If using a salamander, make sure it is red-hot. If using a blow torch, use now to caramelize the sugar.

If using a broiler, turn the broiler on before sprinkling the sugar on top of the dessert. Place the dishes under the broiler until the sugar topping begins to caramelize. Remove from the broiler and serve.

NOTES:

(*) I used one cup each of milk and whipping cream; the texture was silkier.

(*) I found that the rind of a whole lemon (or the equivalent in calamondin orange rinds which was what I used) was too much. I used only the rind of one small calamondin for my second try.

(*) Original recipe calls for caster sugar which I can't find here. Caster sugar is a superfine granulated sugar (not the same as powdered sugar) so I took a cup of regular granulated and put it through my small food processor with the metal blades and processed until quite fine.